SE Asia Stocks-Most rise; Philippines recovers

Reuters Staff

4 Min Read

* Thailand, Indonesia shares extend gains
* Singapore little changed, Vietnam down
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on
Thursday, with the Philippines snapping two sessions of falls on
the back of gains in real estate shares.
The Philippine Stock Exchange PSEI Index rose as much
as 0.6 percent after shedding 3.3 percent in the previous two
sessions.
"The index dropped quite a bit. Technically we're at support
level, so I think that's one of the reasons why we are
rebounding," said April Lee-Tan from COL Financial INC.
Real estate giant Ayala Land climbed as much as 2.8
percent, while SM Prime Holdings rose as much as 1.6
percent.
Among other gainers, SM Investments Corp jumped up
to 2 percent, while Bank of the Philippine Islands rose
2.4 percent.
The central bank said on Wednesday that annual inflation in
January may hit the upper end of the government's target range
of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent for this year, boosted by higher
prices of oil and food.
Singapore shares were little changed. Industrial
stocks were among the top gainers.
Jardine Matheson Holdings rose as much as 2
percent, while United Overseas Bank Ltd climbed 0.9
percent.
Thai shares climbed as much as 0.6 percent and
extended gains into a second session, ahead of January inflation
data.
Energy stocks were among the top gainers with PTT Pcl
rising as much as 1.2 percent. PTT Exploration and
Production Pcl surged to a near three-year high after
Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday it would sell its
stake in the Bongkot gas field to the Thai petroleum producer.
Indonesian shares extended gains into a second day,
rising as much as 0.8 percent, ahead of January inflation data.
Index heavyweight Bank Central Asia jumped up to 3
percent.
An index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks
climbed 0.8 percent.
Vietnam shares dropped over 1 percent, dragged down
by industrials.
FLC Faros Construction slumped up to 6.7 percent,
while Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp fell 3.7
percent.
Malaysia remained closed for a public holiday.
Asian shares eked out modest gains, clawing back sharp
losses from earlier this week, however, rising U.S. bond yields
and interest rates could dampen investors' optimism toward the
global economic outlook.
The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold as
expected at its first policy meeting in 2018 on Wednesday but
flagged interest policy tightening later this year.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0413 GMT
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3534.25 3533.99 0.01
Bangkok 1834.59 1826.86 0.42
Manila 8800.91 8764.01 0.42
Jakarta 6647.356 6605.631 0.63
Ho Chi Minh 1098.34 1110.36 -1.08
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3534.25 3402.92 3.86
Bangkok 1834.59 1753.71 4.61
Manila 8800.91 8558.42 2.83
Jakarta 6647.356 6355.654 4.59
Ho Chi Minh 1098.34 984.24 11.59
(Reporting by Karthika Suresh Namboothiri; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)